There are suggestions that people went on Twitter ecouraging others to go to Tottenham and join in the riot and the looting. If there is any substance for this allegation, it puts a cloud over social networking sites like Twitter. They are a godsend for activists and anarchists to get their view heard, and for wronged wives to out their husbands, and 100 kids can turn up in minutes for an illegal rave. But encouraging Civil disobedience is quite another matter.

Social Networking has only made it easier to organise, but before SN became available, it was still being organised via the Net or via Mobile Phones, so Twitter & the like cannot be held to blame.

It has been reported that the police returned fire after being fired upon, but until this has been confirmed, one can't comment on that.

Broadwater Farm since the early 80's has been a major drug warren & at one point, it was a total No-Go Zone for the police. Matters may have quietened down some since October 1985, but nothing has changed much in that area.

Yes, I saw that as well & again this morning on BBC News. Fire crews were still putting out fires on burning buildings.

Ferry Lane where the shooting occured is a major artery through that side of North London with very little shops/built up area until you get to Forest Road.

The easiest targets for arson/looting from Ferry Lane is where it all happened. Seven Sisters/Tottenham High Road which is still a fair distance from Tottenham Hale station, so the arson & looting had to be deliberate.

The problem that the London Met police have is that, the highest rank of a feet on the ground Police officer is a Chief Superintendent. From the rank of Commander upwards they are political appointments. Politicians want control of the Met as they police the UK capital city. They want senior officers to do as they are told and not argue, and in return most get gongs when they retire.

If the army had been called in early enough it wouldn't have escalated into what it did. The Met says they couldn't have forseen what was to happen. Maybe so, but they should have reacted earlier and more strongly.

The Met should replace everyone above CS rank with Army staff, and make it into a para-military force. Then we will avoid this sort of thing in future.

Well with politicians in the US fighting amongst themselves rather than attempting to help their country recover & with European politicians taking holidays at a much publicised £10,000 per week, which is 2 years gross income for many here, I expect a lot more to oocur, unfortunately.

Our politicians won't increase police numbers, in fact they doing their damndest to reduce their numbers, & they certainly won't allow the army in on a semi-permanent to permanent basis, so I think its time conscription was reintroduced.

I'm pretty sure that many of these idiots would think twice about vandalism if they knew that they'd be sent into the armed forces & possibly have to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan, rather than be sent to prison.

Hardly "UK Riots". Not even London Riots since it is rioting in Tottenham that spilled over into a few other London areas. I'm sure the London Metropolitan Police can deal with this without suggestions of turning the UK into a para-military force state. There are no riots where I live, nor the rest of 99.99% in the UK.

Initially about the local shooting of a suspected drug dealer in Tottenham. But it has escalated all over London, and also in other cities. It seems to be now more about uneducated youths protesting that they don't have any future.

I've never seen anything like this in the UK in my life, and I am surprised that PM Cameron only decided tonight to fly home from holiday.

In no way do I condone their activities, but do we actually think the best way we can handle a situation like this is through tough military support and a few sliced throats?

It would seem to me that the best way to handle the unrest is by allowing them a forum to have their voices heard, and perhaps some action from their elected representatives to alleviate their concerns.

A man was shot dead in London last Thursday by the police in London. His family went to Tottenham police station, London, on Saturday to ask why he had been shot, if he was carrying any weapons or drugs and what reason did the police shoot him for. They waited ouside for some time and the police did not come out and speak to the family. That seemed to be the flashpoint for starting the riot.flamingballoons

In no way do I condone their activities, but do we actually think the best way we can handle a situation like this is through tough military support and a few sliced throats?

It would seem to me that the best way to handle the unrest is by allowing them a forum to have their voices heard, and perhaps some action from their elected representatives to alleviate their concerns.

It seems that the rioting has little to do with politics, the recession or concerns. Thugs and the criminal gangs do not like the rule of law and and are showing how criminal gangs behave against authority and the law of the land. Opportunists are diving in to loot and get some distorted fun in causing damage and ruining the community they live in.flamingballoons

I've been watching the Reuters live service currently being used by Fox News.
Their helicopter camera has used this link to transmit back to their studio.
They have been showing the fires going on in London but at the moment the
helicopter has gone back to base to refuel. Hopefully it will take off again shortly and relay more video footage.

Initially about the local shooting of a suspected drug dealer in Tottenham. But it has escalated all over London, and also in other cities. It seems to be now more about uneducated youths protesting that they don't have any future.

I've never seen anything like this in the UK in my life, and I am surprised that PM Cameron only decided tonight to fly home from holiday.

I suspect his was just a trigger for a release of a lot of anger. Things from what I understand have been very bad in London with all the cuts and the unemployment. The police are known (and I have seen them) to be very heavy handed and I am not surprised that people are unhappy about the shooting of an unarmed person. I am sure if anyone here were shot their families. friends and community would be just as outraged.

It's terrible that this has spread and I am now seeing updates from friends on facebook describing what they are seeing all across London. It sounds really bad and very worrying. :(Reality Internet Personality